The Oura Ring 4: A New, Small, and Round App for Metric Measurements of Stress, Resilience, and Cardiology

The Oura Ring 4 will cost 347 and will ship on October 15th. Oura Ring Gen 3 units will be available until inventory runs out, even though there is a $50 price hike. The $6 monthly and $70 annual subscription of Oura will not be increasing.

Over the past few years, Oura has expanded its offerings to measure many different metrics, including stress, resilience, and cardio health. The new app divides data into three sections, with daily metrics being put in the Today tab, and longer term metrics in the Vitals tab and My Health tab.

Notably, Oura is also expanding its size range. You will be able to buy the ring in sizes from 4 to 15. Previously, the smart ring was limited to sizes 6 to 13. Part of that is because Oura says majority of its population are female and women in their 20’s are the fastest growing segment. Expanding its size range is a good thing.

The bigger update, however, comes from software. Oura says its new algorithm helps solve a major problem with smart rings — the fact that everyone’s fingers are different and smart rings can move out of alignment during the day. That can mean sensor are pulling data from the wrong place. The number of signal pathways was increased from eight to 18. It is thought that it can pick the best signal at any given time.

At a glance, the Oura Ring 4 doesn’t look too different from the Gen 3. The new ring will be made from titanium. The previous ring was made with an eprysy interior. All the rings will also be completely round, like the current Horizon models, with no flat edge. Perhaps most notably, the sensors no longer have protruding dome-shaped covers. Instead, they’re recessed for a flatter, more comfortable profile.

When the Gen3 debut happened, Oura took a year to build most of its new features, making it hard to tell people to buy a subscription. Several years later, Oura has now unrolled a new app design that will be available to all Oura members in the coming weeks, not months.

Oura’s first smart ring: a compact, sensitive, and accurate tracker with no screen and no screen, and with inherited grandfather’s watch

Depending on the size of the ring, it can now weigh between 3.3 and 5.2 grams. A cover that protects the charging base from being knocked off my desk is an added benefit of the base.

It is now available in an expanded size range, too, up from eight available sizes to 12, and in an expanded range of colors, which includes an updated black that has a more durable coating to address customer complaints. My experience might be unusual since I have the Heritage Black that I have worn for several years without any problems. The more inclusive size range now includes a size 4 to accommodate more of Oura’s female customer base (more on this later).

Since Oura’s first smart ring, the category has exploded. There is a huge appetite for a fitness tracker that is sensitive and accurate, doesn’t have a screen, and also lets you wear your inherited grandfather’s watch on your wrist, instead of something that will bang you in the schnoz while you sleep.